MSU AFT Local Union Passes Resolution in Support of Marriage Equality

The membership of AFT Local 1904 passed at its September 15, 2010 General Union Membership Meeting a resolution in support of Marriage Equality. See the resolution below:

Resolution in Support of Marriage Equality in New Jersey

WHEREAS American Federation of Teachers Local 1904 is strongly committed to the principle of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and to the fair and equitable treatment of all, and

WHEREAS thousands of residents of the state of New Jersey have built strong, lasting, loving relationships that are nonetheless unrecognized by state and federal marriage laws, and

WHEREAS current state and federal marriage laws put a real and unequal burden on many members of the MSU community, including administrators, faculty, staff and students, and

WHEREAS the New Jersey Supreme Court presented a unanimous ruling that it is unconstitutional to give same-sex couples lesser rights than different-sex couples, and

WHEREAS in response to that ruling the New Jersey Legislature hastily enacted a civil union law which required review after one year, and

WHEREAS the Civil Union Review Commission, appointed by the New Jersey legislature, issued its report documenting how civil unions fall short of the court-mandated equality for same-sex couples, and

WHEREAS a recent CNN poll reported that over 50 percent of Americans now support full marriage equality for same-sex couples.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that AFT Local 1904 wholeheartedly encourages immediate action by the New Jersey State Legislature to follow the leads of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. and allow full marriage equality to same-sex couples in the State of New Jersey.